Hey All! So, life happens? Sorry. Just be assured that I am determined to finish this story and kind of know how to end it? It might be done in 2 chapters, but who knows when/what inspiration will hit.

Anyways, this story is so long that I had to reread it to make sure I wasn't missing anything or repeating myself. I did post a summarized timeline (up to ch 27) on my tumblr sideblog (same username) in case someone wants a quick refresher without having to reread this (at over 80k it takes me 7+ hours).

Disclaimer: I have no experience/knowledge with babies so please be kind (I did ask a NICU nurse the least embarrassing question)

Enjoy!

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Chapter 28

*Next morning, Sun Oct 24*

Carlton was halfway to the hospital when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" Carlton answered as he looked for a place to pull his car over.

"Lassie! I didn't change! "

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Shawn laughed, "Thanks, I won't take offense since I'm also relieved. You wouldn't believe how excited I am about that!"

"You sound like it."

"Yeah. Well, I've gotta go; my mom is making me take a nap before I can come to the hospital, like I'm a little kid or something. Hopefully I'll be there by noon."

"Just take your time."

"But isn't Izzy gonna be so hungry by the time I get there?!"

"They have her on a schedule and will give her what you pumped yesterday; she'll be fine. They can also supplement if they think she needs more."

"Are you at the hospital now?"

"I was on my way, I pulled over to answer your call."

"Aww! What a good, law-abiding officer you are! Okay, text me when you get there and give me an update as soon as you can! But don't abandon her too soon just to text me! I want her to have plenty of cuddle time with at least one of us!"

Carlton rolled his eyes. "Sharon, just get some rest."

"I'll try. Bye!"

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*The next afternoon, Monday*

"Her oxygen stats are looking good." The doctor noted as she wrote on the chart.

"Oh thank pineapple!" Sharon sighed as the nurse handed Isabella to her.

The doctor chuckled. "Assuming Isabella continues to improve, I don't see why she can't go home tomorrow afternoon."

"That soon?"

"Yes. 36 weeks is pretty close to full-term and, since Isabella hasn't shown any issues, there's no reason to keep her longer. As well as babies do here in the NICU, they do even better once they are home. You need to keep to the feeding schedule for the next few weeks until she is able to tell you when she's hungry. One of the nurses will go over everything you need to know before you leave, but we do recommend keeping visitors to a minimum for the first few weeks, to reduce the chances of you or your baby getting sick."

"So what you're saying is, I should get her a bubble to live in?" Sharon asked as Carlton groaned.

The doctor laughed as she put Isabella's chart away. "No, that actually might do her more harm. Just try to limit visitors indoors, maybe a few outdoor visits if the weather is nice. Your primary care doctor probably already talked with you about your own recovery as well."

"Yeah. Who knew that pushing a 6 pound baby could mess with your systems so much."

"The human body is a very interesting thing. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Nothing relevant. Thanks Doc."

"Alright, have a good day!" The doctor nodded as she and the nurse walked away.

"You hear that, Lassie? Izzy can come home tomorrow."

Carlton sighed, "I'm literally sitting right next to you."

"I know! I'm just, I can't believe it! It's happening so fast! I wish my mom could have stayed a few more days."

"Your mom left?"

"Yeah." Sharon shrugged. "My dad took her to the airport while I was napping today. She needs to be back for a seminar. She has her schedule cleared for the most part between Thanksgiving and New Years, so will be back then."

"Okay, that's good to know."

"Speaking of parents, when is your mom going to visit?"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure she knows yet."

"What?!" Sharon exclaimed, before looking around and then whispering, "You haven't told your mom that her grandchild has been born?!"

Carlton shrugged, "I told Lauren. I think my mother and Althea are on a cruise right now, so there would be no point in trying."

"But you aren't sure. Lassie! Go call her! Right now! Or no more cuddle time with Izzy!"

"Fine." He sighed as he stood up. "But not because you told me to; more so you stop bugging me about it."

"At least I have some power over you, even if it's just to annoy you into doing things." She teased as she rocked Isabella.

"No comment."

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When Carlton returned a few minutes later, Isabella was back in the incubator as Sharon traced some shapes on the blanket with her finger. Carlton cleared his throat as he sat down. "There, I called her. Are you happy now?"

"Almost. Let me see your phone." Sharon held out her hand.

"Are you serious?!"

"As heartburn."

Carlton rolled his eyes as he handed over his phone. "Fine. But it's as a heart attack."

"Eh, I've heard it both ways." She shrugged as she started looking through his phone.

"Yeah right."

"Lassie! You were only on the call for 20 seconds!"

"She didn't answer, so I left a voicemail."

"And what, exactly, did you say in just 20 seconds?"

"That the baby is born and if they want to visit, to give me a call back and we can arrange something over the weekend."

"But it's only Monday."

"And I will need all week to mentally prepare for that visit."

Sharon shook her head as she gave him back his phone. "Whatever boundaries you need to set with your mom, I will try to respect them, even if I don't understand."

"Thank you."

"Hopefully the baby softens her up."

"I highly doubt that."

"Babies tend to bring people together to reconcile. I mean, look at us! Did you ever think that you would be having a baby with me?"

"A year ago, No. But you've grown on me. I definitely tolerate you better."

"Oh, you only tolerate me, eh? No lovey dovey feelings involved?"

"I've heard it both ways."

Sharon snorted as she shook her head. "Yeah, I've definitely rubbed off on you."

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*Tuesday*

"Slow down, Lassie!" Sharon hissed as she checked the baby car seat.

"I am going five under the speed limit. Any slower and I might cause an accident."

"Well then try not to drive over every single pothole."

"I'm trying to avoid them, but, again, I don't want to cause an accident."

"I think you need better shocks on your car."

"This car is barely two years old, the shocks are fine."

"Are you sure about that, after all of your pursuit driving, Detective?! You definitely need to get it checked out."

Carlton tightened his grip on the steering wheel and took a deep breath before answering. "This is my personal vehicle, I don't use it for chases; at least not often. Besides, I had the car inspected five months ago."

"Five months is a long time! You really shouldn't wait so long."

"Spencer!" He snapped. "I will pull the car over for you to get out and you can either walk or call your father to come get you."

"We're like two miles from your house!"

"Then you better be quiet."

Sharon huffed and crossed her arms. "Geez Louise, I was just trying to make conversation."

"No, you weren't. And didn't I just ask you to be quiet?"

"You're lucky the baby is here, or you wouldn't believe how fast your head would spin with what I want to say."

"Spencer!" He growled.

"Sorry." She mumbled as she wrapped her arms around her chest and bounced her knee.

Glancing at Sharon, Carlton pulled the car over and put it into park. "Sharon, I'm sorry."

Sharon scoffed but refused to look at him.

"I know you're terrified of being a good parent; I am too." He reached over and placed a hand on Sharon's knee. "But we can't let fear rule us. I've been told that if you are always looking for danger, you'll miss out on all the good and memorable moments. Life is meant to be lived fully, not by hiding in a corner with your back against the wall."

"Who told you that?"

"Your father."

"What?!" Sharon turned her head around to face him. "When?! How did I miss this weird bonding moment between you two?!"

"It was that first day you were in the hospital. I didn't want to be away from either you or Isabella long, so I was going to head right back after taking a quick shower. Henry had taken my keys while I was in the bathroom and threatened to lock me in my bedroom; which was an empty threat since it only locks from the inside."

Sharon laughed, "I wouldn't put it past him to install locks on the outside while you were showering."

"I was betting on him moving heavy furniture to block the door." He shrugged. "Anyways, Henry helped me get some perspective. If I'm always trying to anticipate what will happen next, I'll miss out on what's happening now. Which is probably why my first marriage fell apart."

"I get it, since that's partly why my dad's family fell apart too, and he doesn't want the same thing to happen to us." She sighed and looked at the car seat. "It's just really hard, wanting to protect this fragile little thing that can't do much of anything on their own."

"And I want to protect the people in my life, especially the most important ones. But we can't get back the moments that we miss, especially if something does happen. So how about we both try to live more in the moment, okay?"

"Okay." Sharon laughed as she wiped the tears from her face. "Who could have ever predicted that you would be telling me, the free-spirit, to live more in the moment?"

Carlton shrugged, "A baby changes things."

"Indeed it does. Hopefully for the better."

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*Thursday*

As Juliet approached the front door she could hear the baby crying very loudly. With a regretful sigh she knocked at the door. After a minute, the door opened. Carlton frowned, "O'Hara?"

"Hey Carlton! Is this a bad time?"

"Yeah, kind of is." Carlton grimaced as he let Juliet inside.

"I have a bunch of casseroles I can just throw in the fridge real quick. Or I could come back later if it's really too much of a hassle."

"No, it's fine. We just had a little bit of a diaper explosion."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Probably not what you want to hear when you're bringing in food."

"Lassie! A little help please!" Came Sharon's voice from down the hall, barely heard over the baby's crying.

Juliet smiled. "I'm only dropping it off, I wasn't planning on staying to eat, so I think I'll be okay."

"You know where the kitchen is, right? We'll be in the bathroom."

"Okay, no problem!"

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*20 minutes later*

Carlton came into the kitchen with Isabella in his arms to find Juliet washing dishes. "I thought you weren't staying," he whispered as he gently rocked the baby.

"I'm not. I just thought you could use some help." She laughed and turned around. "Oh! Is this her?! She's so tiny!"

"Yeah, she was born a month early."

"I know, I just haven't been around a newborn since, I think Chief Vick had Iris. So that was what, 4 years ago?"

"Huh, I guess it's also been that long since I last held a baby too."

"I know Isabella's only been home a couple of days, but how are you two holding up?"

"It's definitely been an adjustment. We haven't quite figured out a routine yet, especially since Sharon is still exhausted. Isabella is supposed to be fed every three hours and we usually have to wake her up, so there's a lot of crying involved, both from the baby and Sharon."

Juliet laughed as she dried her hands. "I can imagine. Well, since I have the evening free, how about you go take a quick nap while I take care of Isabella for a while?"

Carlton shook his head. "I couldn't ask that of you. Sharon just laid down for a nap, I can sleep when she gets up."

"You're not asking, I'm offering! When does Isabella have to eat next?"

"A little over two hours, Sharon set an alarm so she could do it."

"I can totally handle a newborn for two hours. If I need you, I'll call you, so keep your phone on."

Carlton sighed, "Okay, you win. But please call me if anything happens."

Juliet laughed, "We'll be fine! Now pass her over."

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*Sunday*

Carlton opened the door and greeted the two people on his porch. "Hello Mother, Althea."

"Hello Booker." "Hi Carlton!"

"You two look well. Did you enjoy your cruise?" Carlton asked.

"Yes, thank you," Mona responded. "Are you going to invite us in?"

"Yes, of course." He stepped back and opened the door wider "Excuse the mess, we haven't had much time for much besides basic cleaning."

"Hmm." Mona took a long look around. "There's two of you, surely one of you could spend a half hour cleaning while the other one is taking care of the baby. Your father only got the day that you were born off work, then he had to go back and leave me all alone to take care of a newborn. And this was before many of the conveniences we have today."

Althea shook her head. "Now Mona, you and I both know that you had plenty of help from your relatives and there are pictures to prove it! So you better stop complaining and help me clean up while Carlton goes back to his baby."

"You don't have to do that." Carlton protested.

"We're family, of course we have to." Althea smiled. "Now you go relax and we'll handle lunch too."

"I haven't been to the store in a few days, I was going to order something."

"Then we'll order something. Just let us know what you would like. Now hurry up!"

"Yes, ma'am." Carlton shook his head as he went towards the baby room. He quietly opened the door and found Sharon in the rocking chair with Isabella. "Hey."

"Hey," Sharon whispered as she looked up. "Are they here?"

"Yes, but Althea insists that I help you with the baby while they clean up."

"Really? Your mom doesn't seem like someone who would clean up other people's messes."

"She's not, she barely cleans her own house. If it was up to her, she would have a housekeeper come every day; but Althea insists that they do their own cleaning. They did compromise on a once a month visit to deep clean."

"Now that I believe." She looked around the room. "We should probably clean up in here."

"It's not that bad, although I guess I can straighten up a few things. Unless you want a break from holding Isabella?"

"Nah, I'm okay for now. She just finished eating and I'd like her to get some sleep before having to socialize."

"Okay. Althea asked what we would like for lunch so they could order it."

"Oh, um…Sandwiches? I'm not very picky."

"Okay, I'll let them know."

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An hour later, they were eating on the back porch while Isabella was sleeping inside. After the initial small talk, they were all quiet for a few minutes until Mona spoke up.

"So Booker, when are you going to make an honest woman out of Sharon?"

"Mona!" Althea scolded.

"It's a bit complicated." Carlton replied as Sharon blushed and ducked her head.

"What's complicated? You already got her pregnant and she's living here; might as well make it legal too. Heaven forbid something were to happen to you, Carlton; you would want them to receive the insurance money."

"Mother, please stop."

"Carlton's daddy, god rest his soul, would have left us in a lurch if it wasn't for the insurance money. And I still needed to go back to work a few months later; good thing Lauren was in school so I didn't have to afford daycare."

"Well," Sharon answered as she played with the chips on her plate. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I have my family to fall back on."

"You have a baby now and they are a lot of work and cost a lot of money. Carlton's cousin Allison was just telling me a few months ago about how expensive a good daycare costs and how half of her monthly paycheck goes right towards that while her husband pays for everything else."

"Mona," Althea interrupted. "They just had the baby, they have a few months to figure out childcare. I believe Carlton said he has six months off work, right Carlton?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Mona shook her head. "Are you at least going to get married and stop living in sin? Especially before you have more children? I know the priest at our church will make an exception, he has even agreed to do marriage counseling sessions."

"Living in sin?!" Sharon scoffed as she stood up. "More children?! I've told you before that it was complicated and that I didn't want to hear your opinions. We don't need your help or your antiquated gender roles or religious beliefs!"

"Sharon," Carlton warned as he reached for Sharon's arm.

Sharon pulled her arm out of his reach. "It is none of your business if or when we get married, and you definitely have no say in whether or not we have more children! Times have changed and I'm not going to be counseled by some old religious dinosaur who is more concerned with butts in pews and money in the bank than people's happiness."

"Spencer!" Carlton snapped. "Calm down."

"Oh no, you did not just tell me to calm down!" Sharon snapped as she turned towards Carlton. "I'm not going to get scolded by a woman who knows almost nothing about my life, and I am definitely not going to follow a command by someone who won't stand up to his mother! What I will do is go check on my baby that came out of my own complicated body just 10 days ago." Sharon stormed away from the table and back inside.

"Sharon," Carlton sighed.

"Don't you dare start, Carlton!" She yelled before she was out of sight.

"Hmm, maybe it's a good thing you two are not married." Mona commented.

"Mona!" Althea scolded.

Carlton shook his head. "Mother, Sharon is right. The situation is complicated…."

"Then un-complicate it." Mona interrupted.

"I can't. And if you bring it up again or insult Sharon, then you won't have any relationship with your granddaughter nor will you be welcomed into our home."

"Booker!"

"No, Mother! They are my family now and I will do everything in my power to protect them, even from you." He stood up and grabbed both his and Sharon's plates. "Now, if you don't mind, I think this visit is over. Thank you for your help and for lunch. Good day."

Althea smiled as she stood up, "Thank you for having us, Carlton."

Carlton nodded as he brought the plates into the kitchen before heading for the nursery.

He knocked gently before opening the door. "Sharon? Do you want company?"

"It depends, are you going to keep defending your mom?" She asked softly from her position next to the crib, just watching Isabella sleep.

"No. I basically told her to get out and not come back if she can't respect our decisions."

Sharon nodded. "Then you can come in."

Carlton slipped inside and shut the door. "I'm sorry about what happened. You were right; I should have stood up for you. I just didn't know how to explain the situation without revealing private information."

"And she's your mother, you'll always want to defend her."

"Not always. She was way out of line." He stood next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Sharon sighed as she hugged a stuffed animal tighter. "I already feel enough shame and guilt, I definitely don't need your mom's impossible standards to fail as well."

"Hey, you're doing a great job in a complicated situation. Look, we're both learning and are bound to make mistakes, but as long as everyone is happy and healthy, I would call it a win."

Sharon laughed, "When did you start being the optimist?"

"When did you stop?"

"A baby changes people." Sharon shrugged.

"Then we'll just have to figure out our new normal together."

"Okay, together." Sharon smiled.